Making Of Hill Railway Project

It
was a crisp winter night in the year 1878. A glorious fire crackled on one
side of the hall. The polished parquet floor of the planters club at
Tindharia resonated with choreographed footsteps. The Sahibs (Gentlemen) and
Memsahibs (Ladies) were attired in their best tails, frills and feather
hats. The gaiety of the dancers was infectious. It was party-time. But
Franklin Prestage was not exactly having a ball. He seemed preoccupied
although he let his wife lead him through the motions on the dance floor.
His feverish mind was trying to figure out how to conquer that impossible

gradient where his pet Darjeeling Tramway Project had got stuck. His wife
gently led the distracted Prestage to the edge of the dance floor and when
they were right at the brink, she swerved deftly and led him back centre -
stage. "If you can't go forward, why don't you go back
darling," she is believed to have whispered in his ears.

But Franklin Prestage was not exactly having a ball. He seemed preoccupied
although he let his wife lead him through the motions on the dance floor.
His feverish mind was trying to figure out how to conquer that impossible
gradient where his pet Darjeeling Tramway Project had got stuck. His wife
gently led the distracted Prestage to the edge of the dance floor and when
they were right at the brink, she swerved deftly and led him back centre -
stage. "If you can't go forward, why don't you go back
darling," she is believed to have whispered in his ears.

And that is precisely what Prestage did when he built the delightfully
innovative Darjeeling Himalayan railway (DHR). Franklin Prestage was an
official of the Darjeeling Tramway Company. His dream was to build a narrow
gauge rail track along the hill cart road alignment. But he could not
proceed beyond the 14th mile due to the Steepness of the gradient. Until his
wife inspired him with an ingenious solution, perhaps inadvertently. Every
time, the gradient got too steep, Franklin brought the tracks back a few
yards and let it climb again at a slightly different point, sketching a
z-shaped zigzag-not once, but six times in the 51-mile stretch from Siliguri
to Darjeeling. The inspiration he drew from his wife's wisdom is now
part of the Darjeeling folklore.

Making Of Hill Railway Project

It was a crisp winter night in the year 1878. A
glorious fire crackled on one side of the hall. The polished parquet floor
of the planters club at Tindharia resonated with choreographed footsteps.
The Sahibs (Gentlemen) and Memsahibs (Ladies) were attired in their best
tails, frills and feather hats. The gaiety of the dancers was infectious. It
was party-time.

But Franklin Prestage was not exactly having a ball. He seemed preoccupied
although he let his wife lead him through the motions on the dance floor.
His feverish mind was trying to figure out how to conquer that impossible
gradient where his pet Darjeeling Tramway Project had got stuck. His wife
gently led the distracted Prestage to the edge of the dance floor and when
they were right at the brink, she swerved deftly and led him back centre -
stage. "If you can't go forward, why don't you go back
darling," she is believed to have whispered in his ears.

And that is precisely what Prestage did when he built the delightfully
innovative Darjeeling Himalayan railway (DHR). Franklin Prestage was an
official of the Darjeeling Tramway Company. His dream was to build a narrow
gauge rail track along the hill cart road alignment. But he could not
proceed beyond the 14th mile due to the Steepness of the gradient. Until his
wife inspired him with an ingenious solution, perhaps inadvertently. Every
time, the gradient got too steep, Franklin brought the tracks back a few
yards and let it climb again at a slightly different point, sketching a
z-shaped zigzag-not once, but six times in the 51-mile stretch from Siliguri
to Darjeeling. The inspiration he drew from his wife's wisdom is now
part of the Darjeeling folklore.

A Wonder Of The Rail Tracks

The Darjeeling Himalayan railway is a marvel of sorts
in what one would call non-engineering. It uses neither rack mechanism nor
cable as other mountain railways do, but moves only on adhesion. It was the
genius and vision of Franklin Prestage, which conceived of such a mechanism
and executed it to perfection. During its 87.48-kms journey from Siliguri to
Darjeeling, the toy train as it is aptly and affectionately referred to,
loops gracefully around those recalcitrant humps, much like a spiral and
chugs its way up to Ghum, its highest point at 7,407 feet. It seems to be
gentle persuasion all the way. The only other mountain railway in the world
that reaches a higher altitude is in the Andes where Cusco station is
located at 14,000 feet, but the mechanism used there is different.

Connecting People

Innovative engineering is only one facet of the
inimitable DHR. Perhaps, no other railway system in the world is as
ineluctably interwoven with the lives of the peoples it serves. DHR has been
part of the Darjeeling landscape for over a hundred years and is central to
the hill economy of the region. The railway was instrumental in attracting
people from neighbouring Sikkim, Nepal, West Bengal and even as far away as
Tibet, making Kurseong, a wayside town, a true entrepot of eclectic
cultures.

Earlier & Present Routes

Before the DHR was built, travellers used ponies,
which used to take several days through the meandering hill cart road. Now
quaint little stations with even quainter names dot the route- Tindharia,
Sukna, Rangtong, Chunbati and Ghum. The journey is as leisurely, but not at
all strenuous unlike a pony ride. Each stretch offers a unique panorama.

The Sukna Tindharia stretch of the foothills traverses through the
Singalela range where the train takes its first loop. The Terai forest
unfolds near Rangtong. Here a visitor can experience his first reversing
zigzag. Then it takes its next loop at Chunbati gaining height and voila!
One can have a magnificent view of the Mahanandi valley on the right. At
Tindharia, the train halts long enough get your legs streached, stroll and
tuck into a snack with a steaming cup of tea before resuming the journey
towards agony point- the aptly named loop just after Tindharia, which churns
the contents of your stomach.

Soon the train heads for another reverse, the last one at 3,400 feet just
after Gayabari station where monkeys seem to be absorbed in their
conference. All it takes is a cone of peanuts to distract their
concentration and abruptly terminate the solemn congregation. As the train
winds its way, a massive scar on the hillside comes into view. Tourists will
learn that it is Pagla Jhora or mad torrent, which in its fury washes away
road and track, houses and shops every few years cutting off Darjeeling for
days during the monsoons. The Mahanandi station gives one a glimpse of the
source of the river. After Eagles Crag, tourists are treated to a
spectacular vista of the West Bengal plains - if one is lucky that is.

The Tea Garden Landscapes

After Kurseong, it's tea garden all the way.
Margaret's Hope, stretches for miles in front of the onlooker and one
can marvel at the deftness with which the hill women pick the tealeaves and
drop it into the massive baskets on their backs. Their movements seem
choreographed to perfection. But they have time to pause and flash a smile
at the visitors passing by.

Ghum - The Land Of Misty Sceneries

After pausing at Tung station for water, the train
climbs to Sonada station built in the 1880s. From here, one heads for the
clouds - Ghum, enveloped eternally in a mist. As one nears Ghum, its
colourful monastery comes into view. After ghum, the train runs up along a
small ridge to reach the most spectacular engineering feat on the line-the
Batasia Loop - with a breath-taking view of the Kanchenjunga as a
backdrop. At Batasia, there is a memorial to the Gorkhas. After its
laborious climb, the train takes its last drink of water before teetering
precariously on the hillside to reach its final destination, the Darjeeling
station.

The Description

According to Mark Twain, a trip on the DHR "is
the most enjoyable day I have spent on the earth". Few will disagree
with him. Darjeeling becomes the toy train and the toy train, Darjeeling. In
fact, the verdant slopes appear more as a backdrop to the ubiquitous toy
train. Without it, the Darjeeling landscape would appear bereft. The steamy
hiss of the engine, the strident whistle and the clatter of the carriages as
the toy train winds its way up the hill blend seamlessly with the cacophony
of hill traffic especially because the railway and the hill road chase each
other all the way from Siliguri to Darjeeling. At times the narrow gauge
railway track and the road seem to move in tandem, a picture of perfect
harmony. Many times - in fact 150 times in the entire stretch -
they cross each other. Every now and then they play hide and seek like two
feuding lovers. But they are never too faraway from each other at any point.

Rail Meeting Reel

Those people who are on the wrong side of 40, might
perhaps remember the film Aradhana in which, Rajesh Khanna travelling in a
jeep, woos Sharmila Tagore travelling in the Toy Tain to the accompaniment
of a haunting melody. Avant Garde as ever, Hindi filmdom recognised the
romantic potential of the Darjeeling railway long before even the railways
themselves woke up to it.

A World Heritage Site

The wake up call came and recently UNESCO declared DHR
as a World Heritage Site. The world heritage site status puts DHR in the
same exalted league as the hermitage in St. Petersburg, our very own Humayun's
Tomb in Delhi, Hampi in South India and other such man-made marvels. A
heritage site is one that is worthy of preservation and a legacy that is
worth bequeathing to posterity. After simmering in the Austrian Alps, DHR is
the second railway system in the world to be accorded the World Heritage
status.

Bringing Darjeeling On Tourist Map

Earlier, the very same DHR had put Darjeeling on the
world tea map. If the exquisitely flavoured premium Darjeling tea is sipped
in the fashionable salons of Paris today, then it is DHR that has played a
small role in making this happen. In its earlier avatars of open carriages,
it had ferried tea from the misty slopes to the railheads on the plains to
be transshipped to faraway destinations. There is an enchanting sepia tinted
photograph of the DHR ferrying wooden tea chests down the hill in the Chum
museum, which has just opened. It houses other exquisite DHR memorabilia
such as the signaling lanterns in use since the 19th century, whistles,
plaques and badges and some priceless old photographs.

Journey On The DHR

A ride on the DHR is not for the hurried and hassled
traveller who is impatient to reach his destination. It's for those who
believe the journey is the destination. Much like a toy train strung
together from match-boxes, the DHR balances on two-feet tracks moving at a
maximum speed of 15-km an hour. It takes all of nine hours to reach
Darjeeling from Siliguri and at quite a reasonable sum.

Imaginatively named coaches such as Shivalik, Kanchenjunga, etc with wide
windows offer picture postcard views of Rhododendron slopes. Kanchenjunga in
all her snowy glory, beckons you tantalisingly from every turn the train
takes. In fact, there are so many turns and twists in the track that it
seems as though the train is turning its head to check up on its rear from
time to time. The train passes through bazaars so close that tourists can
virtually lean out and help themselves to the merchandise in the shops.

It hugs the hillsides, giving one a glimpse into the day-to-day lives of
the hill people. It seems to be a constant wonder for the locals who stop in
their tracks to watch it go by just as their parents and grandparents must
have done it in their time. Even as traffic on the narrow hill roads get
snarled from time to time, the DHR gets right of way as it passes regally
through the townships.

The officials hope that the World Heritage status will attract fun seekers
and adventure lovers to Darjeeling. DHR might soon replace tea as the mascot
of this lovely hill station. In fact, a trip to Darjeeling would be worth
the effort just for the train ride. The DHR is a celebration, no less.